


Celebrando

by Casandravus



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Between-the-Scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 19:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13982169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casandravus/pseuds/Casandravus
Summary: Watching her boys perform on-stage, Imelda Rivera has two realizations. One’s like a punch to the gut; the other’s like an earthquake to the spine.





	Celebrando

Imelda looks at the glowing Rivera footprints embedded in the cobblestone. "Find him!" she tells her family. Her instinct is to stay close to her _alebrije_ \- so she does. _Ay mi Dios..._ Where is that boy? There! A flash of red on the stage - that has to be Miguel. Imelda takes a step, but Pepita actually blocks her from moving forward. "Pepita!" She hisses. "That's our boy on the stage, we need to get him home!"   
  
The _alebrije_ shakes her head, flattens her wings against her back. Every move Imelda makes to go toward the stage, Pepita counters. "Pepita, please! That's our boy! We need to get him home!" She stands firm, eyes narrowed at the one she's supposed to guide. She jerks her head - just slightly - toward _Héctor_. " _Qué_!? Why should I have anything to do with that... That... _Musicó_! That walk-away _coward_!"   
  
His voice, joking with Miguel, booms from the stage as she asks the question.   
  
Pepita growls softly, gently butting heads with her human. Trying to make her understand that Héctor is important to her journey. Anger runs deep in Imelda's frame - her _alebrije_ knows this, but sees the larger picture. "Please, _mi alebrije_. I don't know what your purpose is... I just want to bring Miguel home. His _mamá y papá_ must be so worried. Not to mention Elena and - " saying her daughter's name hurts the place her heart once was.   
  
Nevertheless, Pepita insists Imelda watch this performance. She sits, unmoving, and tilts her head to the stage again. "Fine! Will we go after him when this foolishness is done, then?" Pepita nods, nudging her human to actually watch the performance.   
  
Miguel's voice is beautiful - untrained, yes, but considering her generations-long ban on music, she's not surprised. It's when Héctor sings with him that she's floored. She hasn't heard him sing anything but a drunken shanty in years. Miguel has, somehow, inspired him - and it hits her like a punch to the gut: **_He doesn't know_**.   
  
Imelda's certain of it, but asks anyway. "They have... No idea, do they? Neither of them?" Pepita shakes her head again. _No_.   
  
"Ay, mi Dios..." she whispers. Pepita grunts and stands. As Héctor puts himself together and stands prim, another realization hits her - this time in the chest: **_she still loves him_**. It rattles her spine, makes her ribcage quake. When her boys spin together, they are filled with joy; it takes her breath away. Shaking off the emptiness that comes with the end of their performance, she and Pepita fly into the neon light.

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the middle of Un Poco Loco. On my second viewing, I noticed that Imelda doesn't go through the plaza to look for Miguel the way the rest of the family does (she stays close to Pepita). On my third time watching, I started wondering why Imelda doesn't go straight to the stage when it seems like she can at least hear and see Un Poco Loco being performed. Hope y’all enjoyed!


End file.
